We all relinquish the idea of a post-apocalyptic scenario as we experience it virtually through watching various TV series and movies nowadays. It might be a zombie apocalypse or an end-of-the-world kind of doomsday film that would inspire most of us to be more cautious and prepare for a possible outbreak in the near future. But these type of scenarios are bike builder’s source for new designs and concepts. And most of them are now gearing towards it.

Fart Monkeez Garage main man and ideologist Jonathan Van Haute visualized this idea of creating a ‘doomsday-raider’ type of motorcycle when one of Philippines’ iconic musicians commissioned him to work on a ‘special’ bike project. A great songwriter that started creating massive hits since the 90’s with his former band Eraserheads. He continued to create exceptional music with other band projects such as The Mongols, Pupil, The Oktaves and now with his latest collaboration with Apartel. The mind behind the greatest pinoyanthems such as “Overdrive” and “Ang Huling El Bimbo” is Jonathan’s latest client andis none other than Mr. Ely Buendia.

The builder and the icon.

The biggest stumbling block in enjoying two wheel rides during his youth was his cautious parents. Now, with just four months of two wheel experience, Ely is now enjoying the liberty of riding his motorcycle on a high speed stake.

“My first bike was a Harley Davidson Street 750,” Ely said. “Unfortunately, I had a bad spill ramming the bike over the stairs in front of our house. The front shocks of my HD was badly damaged. I was worried about not having a bike in hand for a couple of months, so I decided to buy a Ducati Scrambler.“

Day-dreaming while living the dream.

“It was Raymund Marasigan who introduced me to Jonathan” said Ely, when asked how he was introduced to Fart Monkeez Garage. And Jonathan also added, “when Raymund sent me a text message that he referred me to Ely Buendia I was shocked and said ‘what? Ely Buendia?!’ Then in just 5 minutes my phone rang and it was Ely who’s calling!”

DOOMSDAY PREPPERS: HONDA XR 200

Jonathan Van Haute: “I chopped off 95% of the rear section of the frame. And from there, I turned the seat into a single seater. For the tank, we thought about it really hard cause we want to have a new approach on its design. I went to different local shops to find something interesting. Bentalls bike shop is along Naga Road here in Las Piñas city, and inside their stock room I saw this old tank for a Suzuki TS. It was gathering dust for almost 10 years. I showed it to Ely and shared to him that this type of gas tank is rarely used for bike projects. We both saw the potential of its design so we decided to use it.”

“Ely wanted to have a polished metal look. So there I was, sending new headaches to our team of talented FMG artists,Edwin Mistica and Jerome De Vera. They gave the tank a slick finish with a touch of metal scratches for some added detail, and also to make the paint’s topcoat set properly.”

“Ely also wanted to add his personal logo onto the tank. He gave me his design and I passed it immediately to Edwin who was commissioned to do the airbrush painting of the logo. He added a twist to it and made the style look a bit ‘weathered’, giving a rugged feel to the initials EB.”

“For the bike’s optimum performance, I called outRJ PalacaofGRP Works. And again, I made him search in every corner of Caloocan City to find the parts that was required for the build. It gave him a hard time looking for the right materials because I was really specific with the details. But he did a good job in finding us a pair of Metzeler Lasertec tires and the rights rims to fit them on.”

“I also chose a different set of lights for this build. They call it flood LED lights. Some say that it is illegal to use these type of lamps for a bike build. Due to the harshness of its light, it was said that it might cause danger to other motorists. But here in our city, it is actually legal to use flood LED’s. Though, you have to be aware of the proper angle of installing it to avoid unintentional high-beaming.”

“The ‘garrison belt’ design has its own interesting story. I went to meet Edwin to get the parts which are ready for pick-up. As I was waiting outside Edwin’s computer shop, I suddenly remembered that I have overlooked a crucial part of the design for the battery box. There was supposed to be a finishing touch to it. Then I thought, why not use a garrison belt? So when Edwin arrived with the bike parts, I asked him if where can I buy this type of belt. He remembered that he has a garrison belt stored in his place. So he went back to get it. The belt looked well-aged and the rust wasn’t that bad. It was the perfect piece to complete my design for Ely’s bike.”

The flask-shaped exhaust pipe was made by a local muffler shop near FMG. Then Jonathan gave the finishing touches by giving the pipe some curves and connected everything together.

Photo by Jonathan Van Haute

Fart Monkeez Garage did an amazing job in transforming the Honda XR 200 into a one of a kind street tracker. Ely Buendia’s expectation was surpassed with what he wanted to have for his new ride.